A Kiwi in search of her Irish, English & Scottish tribes

Mary Jane‘s second husband was my great great grandfather, Ephraim Wright. He was born on January 8th 1860 in Polstead, Suffolk, England.1 His parents Benjamin Wright and Mary Ann Peggs had married on October 23rd 1858 in Boxford, Suffolk – Benjamin’s home town.2

I haven’t been able to find Ephraim and his parents in the 1861 census, though there are a couple of likely candidates for his father, both of whom are in jail!

The family turn up in the 1871 census at Potash Lane, Polstead, Suffolk. Along with his parents Benjamin 40 and Mary A 37, the 11 year old scholar Ephraim is living with his 8 year old brother Arthur.3

At the time of the 1881 census, I think he is living at 56 Railway Grove, St Paul Deptford. There is an Ephraim Wright, 21, labourer, living with a 63 year old widower by the name of George Boxhall, who is also a labourer. Ephraim’s birth place is given as Suffolk.4 It’s possible this is not my man – there are several other Ephraim Wrights born in Suffolk around – but given that this is a year before he marries Mary Jane in a neighbouring area, I think it’s likely to be the right one.

On March 13th, 1882 he marries Mary Jane Freeth (formerly Clark) at St Stephen’s church, Lewisham, Kent. At the time he was living at Brookbank Road, Lewisham, and his occupation is “Fitter”.5

By 1891, Ephraim and Mary Jane and five children are living at 11 Alvar Street in Deptford. Thirty year old Ephraim’s occupation is listed as General Labourer and Mary Jane (35) is a Laundress.6 The children are:

My great grandfather Alexander was born just after the census, on June 27th 1891.

Sadly, Ephraim died three years later at the age of 34 on November 26th 1894 at the South Eastern Hospital in Deptford. His address was given as 23 Berthon Street, Deptford, and occupation “Engine fitter”.7 (By the time his son Alexander marries in 1917, Ephraim’s occupation has been upgraded to “Engineer”.)

The cause of death was Enteric Fever, another name for typhoid, “a common worldwide illness, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces [sic] of an infected person… The impact of this disease fell sharply with the application of modern sanitation techniques.”8

I’d love to find out where Ephraim was in 1861. If his father was in jail, where would his mother have gone with a baby? I did search a couple of years ago, looking at his mother’s family to see if she’d gone there, but found nothing. Time to have another hunt. I also want to know what his father was in jail for, if indeed that’s where he was.

And why did Ephraim move away from Suffolk? I would think it would be because of work, or lack thereof. Maybe following up what happened to his brother Arthur could offer some clues.